ArtistPeter Waddell
Tad Lincoln on the White House Roof
Date2015
MediumOil on canvas
Dimensions30 × 40 in. (76.2 × 101.6 cm)
Framed Size: 32 × 42 in. (81.3 × 106.7 cm)
Credit LineDC Commission on the Arts and Humanities Art Bank Collection
Object numberDCCAH2016.043
ClassificationsPaintings
Locations
- Office of Police Complaints (1400 I Street NW, 700)
DescriptionThe painting, “Tad Lincoln on the White House Roof” by Peter Waddell shows President Abraham Lincoln’s son Tad in a ‘fort’ he and his brother Willy created on the White House roof at the outset of the Civil War. Many citizens of Washington fled the city in fear of a confederate invasion. But the boys had a plan to stay and defend the capital. They had been given replicas of Union army uniforms by the officers guarding the White House. Tad had a toy rifle and cannon prepared for the arrival of the enemy. The view from the roof shows the half completed Washington Monument and the undeveloped Mall with Virginia beyond.
